of course, in light of what happened in sandy hook, here we are dealing with a situation of guns and that gun control issue is coming up. hearts very heavy in this community. >> alexis arnold, we really appreciate your reporting tonight. thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >>> and now to the other big story we're following tonight. a series of storms set to barrel across america, possibly producing christmas day tornadoes in the south and then a huge mess in the northeast. just as people are trying to get home after the holiday. in parts of the country, the action has already begun, and here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: it's the nightmare before christmas travelers were hoping to avoid. blankets of snow from central new york to northern california creating christmas chaos for some parts of the country. >> we're hoping we don't sit on the runway. we did that last time and it's not fun. >> reporter: in chicago, paula gagerman and her three daughters arrived early for their christmas eve flight. they are among the millions taking to the crowded skies today. what's that stress like wh